Tottenham star Ben Davies commendable in defence vs Coventry City in the Carabao Cup

Tottenham Hotspur somehow managed to turn things around against Coventry City in the dying embers of the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday evening.

Ange Postecoglou needed a stirring response from his boys after the North London Derby defeat to Arsenal last weekend, but things were not looking good at the Coventry Building Society Arena when Brandon Thomas-Asante put the hosts ahead in the 63rd minute.

However, the likes of Djed Spence and James Maddison came off the bench in the second half and helped Spurs come back into the game, with the former scoring the equaliser two minutes from time. Brennan Johnson silenced his naysayers by scoring the winner in added time at the end of the match with a superb finish past Coventry goalkeeper Ben Wilson.

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It was not a great performance from Tottenham under any circumstances and many would think Coventry deserved the victory, but Ange Postecoglou and Co. will take the result and move on. One player who shone under the lights away at Coventry was Ben Davies.

Big Ange had made eight changes to the cup tie with Ben Davies one of those. The 31-year-old starred at the back for the visitors. Primarily a left-back, he started as a centre-back and played the full 90 minutes. The Welshman partnered Radu Dragusin in central defence and produced a strong display, helping Spurs edge past Coventry.

Davies won 2/2 aerial duels, made one interception, one clearance, two tackles and blocked two shots. He was effective with the ball at his feet on the night by having 102 touches and completing 88/94 passes with a 94% pass accuracy. Going forward, the veteran Wales international had a shot on target albeit a tame one. (Stats courtesy: SofaScore)

However, the biggest highlight of the £80k-per-week star’s game on the night came when he made a goal-line clearance. With the goal gaping, Haji Wright thought he had scored to give Coventry the lead only for Davies to reach on time and make a brilliant goal-line clearance. The Neath-born man produced a near-flawless defensive performance and he will have been frustrated for not helping Spurs keep a clean sheet.

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All in all, Davies’ moment of brilliance in midweek saved the Lilywhites’ blushes against the Championship side in the Carabao Cup and eased the growing pressure on Big Ange.